Background: CSPGs are major players that inhibit experience-dependent plasticity. Results: We show that CSPGs dephosphorylate TrkB. Whereas BDNF promoted dendritic spine formation in cortical neurons, CSPGs abolished the effects. Conclusion: The inhibitory activity of CSPGs operates through the targeting of neurotrophins at the receptor level. Significance: Our findings unveil unexpected cross-talk between BDNF and CSPG signals for the plastic changes of the synapses.

The nuclear transfer process is one of the critical rate-limiting processes in transgene expression. In the present study, we report on the effect of compaction and the size of the DNA molecule on nuclear transfer efficiency by microinjection. A DNA/protamine complex- or variously-sized naked DNA molecules were injected into the cytoplasm or nucleus of synchronized HeLa cells. To evaluate the nuclear transfer process, a nuclear transfer score (NT score), calculated based on transgene expression after cytoplasmic microinjection divided by that after nuclear microinjection, was employed. The compaction of DNA with protamine decreased the NT score in comparison with the injection of naked DNA when the N/P ratio was increased to >2.0. Moreover, when naked DNA was microinjected, gene expression increased in parallel with the size of the DNA in the following order: minicircle DNA (MC07.CMV-EGFP; 2257 bp) > middle-sized plasmid DNA (pBS-EGFP; 3992 bp) > conventional plasmid DNA (pcDNA3.1-EGFP; 6172 bp), while the level of gene expression was quite comparable among them when the DNAs were injected into the nucleus. The above findings suggest that the intrinsic size of the DNA molecule is a major determinant for nuclear entry and that minicircle DNA has a great advantage in nuclear transfer.

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Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains pose a global threat. Antibacterial activity of imipenem/relebactam (IMR) against clinical isolates of these bacteria from several global regions has been shown; however, as yet there are no reports on Japanese isolates.